My Catholic faith

       My Catholic faith is not something that I just practice on Sundays, but is an integral part of my life. It is the air that I breathe, the blood in my veins, the beats of my heart. It is at the core of my identity and a gift from God that I cherish deeply.

     Like an acorn planted long ago at my Baptism, it has changed and grown over the years, into a large tree whose roots stretch deeply into the Church to find its nourishment. It has experienced both bright sunny days, as well as dark stormy nights, but with the grace of God, has managed to remain standing tall.

     As a child and young adult, I never questioned my faith, but accepted what I was taught as truth. As I moved into adulthood, married and had children, a specific question about my faith began to arise in my heart. Having never entertained a doubt before, I felt scared. What if this whole faith thing is a hoax, I asked myself. Up to this point, I had built my entire life around it and a part of me did not want to address my fear. But something deep within kept prodding me to at least look into my quandary and address the issue.

     I did not realize it, but this would be just the first of many times that God would allow a question to arise   about my faith. His aim was not to weaken it, but to bring me to a deeper level of truth. He wanted to bring the knowledge that I had from my head to my heart, and that is just what He proceeded to do.

     Although I began my search with much fear and trepidation, as I continued my pursuit, I was relieved to learn that I was not the first person to question the faith. Now filled with determination to examine my uncertainty, I dove eagerly into the rich storehouse of writings our Church had acquired over her two thousand year history. There was much written on my subject, so I asked the people I saw as "experts" which books they would recommend, and found some myself as well. I read, and I read, and I read until I found "the one" that answered the questions in my heart. At that moment I felt a profound certainty about that truth. It was a "knowing" that has stayed and grown within my heart to the point that I would be willing to die for that dogma of faith.

     That was many years ago, and I have walked down this road numerous times since. Now when a question arises about a particular belief, like Sherlock Holmes, my response to God is "the game is
 afoot!" I eagerly accept the challenge set before me and look for the clues that God will reveal. It has become something I now really enjoy!

    My journey has taught me that God does not expect me to just accept my faith without
understanding, like a dumb little sheep, who just follows blindly. He wants me to pursue my doubts, trusting that the Good Shepherd will lead and guide me into truth. My questioning has not weakened my faith but has enriched and strengthened it. Along the way, I have also come to realize that there are times when I am not able to wrap my finite mind around the infinite mysteries of our faith. When this happens, I am called instead to trust and humbly submit my will to the wisdom of the Church, trusting Christs' promise to lead our Church into truth.

     So it is with gratitude and pride, as well as a bit unworthiness, that I proclaim my Catholic faith. A faith that has survived from one generation to the next, despite persecution, turmoil and martyrdom. A faith that has spanned from St. Peter to Pope Francis, and with the help of God's grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will continue throughout the ages to come.